When Loss Hits Home: Menlo Park Fire Chief Homestead Destroyed

MENLO PARK, CA -- Tragedy knows no boundaries.

In the annals of California's most destructive and deadliest wildfire, the men and women and even K9s have painstakingly fought the blazes around the clock, searched through remains and rescued survivors. All the while, they’ve witnessed the horrors of a raging firestorm and a ghastly missing persons list climb at an astronomical rate. Those rescuers with fortitude can often times remove themselves from the grief. It's all to do a job that comes with the altruistic gratitude of knowing you're helping humanity and sometimes saving it. It can also occasionally come at a price.

For the first few days of the Camp Fire that ignited at Pulga and Camp Creek roads at 6:29 a.m. Nov. 8, Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman had a bad feeling. He knew the Feather River Canyon. Its terrain is uncompromisingly steep, rugged and filled with madrone and manzanita -- what firefighters call "fire bush." He recalled eating out with his dad at the now destroyed Black Bear Diner in Paradise when he would navigate the windy Skyway off Pentz Road to visit the little piece of paradise his parents found in Magalia north of Paradise after leaving the San Francisco Bay Area.

"My parents loved living there. They found a beautiful community, good friends and a much quieter pace of life in retirement. It was always so relaxing to visit them, minus my normal punch list of small repairs and maintenance items that always seemed to be waiting for me," the chief said. Schapelhouman was invested. The place holds precious memories that can't be removed when a firestorm strikes, and you have 10 minutes to leave.

"No one could have ever imagined it would turn into hell on Earth," he said.

But in some respects he did. He told Patch early on that the topography, terrain and lack of exit routes always "made me nervous," calling the Paradise-Magalia region "a death trap." As it turns out, it was for many of the 79 victims who lost their lives trying to escape the inferno in their cars or were caught at their homes. Still, more worrisome is a missing persons list now topping 699 from the collective population of more than 40,000.

Most of the town of Paradise is gone. A staggering 12,462 structures were mowed down in the fiery blast that decimated everything in sight -- including the home of the fire chief's parents his brother now manages as both parents had died earlier.

The chief's San Mateo County strike team sent up a drone to record an aerial view as part of a multi-agency mapping team in the hopes of providing residents with an overhead view and ammunition in dealing with insurance companies. It has also mobilized a Search and Rescue unit as one in eight the California's Office Of Emergency Services State Task Forces and one of 28 national Federal Emergency Management Agency teams. The crews took 50,000 pounds of equipment with 13 vehicles and seven trailers. Their jobs include sifting through the debris for human remains, Hazmat decontamination efforts and other logistics -- a duty that may lead to injury.

George, in the K9 unit, was hurt, prompting on-the-ground surgery. He's back in business in the fire zone Monday, Schapelhouman told Patch.

"There are a lot of sharp, jagged, metal items in the debris you can get hurt by," the chief said.

As far as Schapelhouman, his emotional pain lasts longer. A few in his crew on the strike team went out and chronicled the leveled aftermath of a home completely furnished. Luckily, no one was there at the time of the disaster, but it still didn't diminish the anguish of losing a chunk of his family life.

"It felt like getting punched in the stomach when I saw it. But then you immediately think about everyone else who lost so much more, including their lives," Schapelhouman said. Survivors guilt can run rampant in these catastrophic events.

Cal Fire Deputy Chief Scott McLean told Patch he wasn't surprised to hear the nobility expressed by one of his own. Firefighters are kin, recognizing super-human strengths at insurmountable odds.

At least 20 firefighters battling the Camp Fire have lost their homes in Paradise -- a city with only 15 percent of it remaining structurally, he estimated.

"They got their families out, then continued to fight," said McLean, who's lived in Chico since 1973. "They're fighting this fire knowing they have nowhere to go home to -- their significant others organizing everything," McLean said.

The Cal Fire head has noticed a surge affecting the real estate market in Chico.

"Imagine all the evacuees. They're just up and buying homes. There's nothing left (to buy) in Chico. Think about it. That's 149,000 acres," he said almost surprising himself to say it. Rentals have the same scarcity, he added.

"That town's not going to be stable in 20 years," McLean told Patch.

The cause is under investigation.

Rain -- a help or a hindrance?

At a current 70 percent, the firefight is marching toward the Nov. 30 full containment target. Rain in the forecast later in the week certainly helps douse the flames but makes sifting through remains more difficult.

"Rain couldn't come at a worse time," McLean said. He cited the mucky soot's propensity to cause the soil to slip in the burn area, compromise roads and hide valuable remains in the ruins of the structures.

Cal Fire has created a list and map https://app.box.com where residents may get an assessment of what structures have been damaged and destroyed. More than 14,000 structures remain threatened and 47,000-plus have been evacuated.

Meanwhile, for the multitude of people displaced, the California Office of Emergency Services built an expansive staging area next to the Chico airport.

The California Department of Social Services is working closely with Butte County's, along with Butte County OES, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief to coordinate sheltering and feeding operations throughout the county.

Two additional shelters were opened and expanded at the Butte County Fairgrounds and Glenn County Fairgrounds to provide additional capacity for those needing a dry and warm place to stay. The shelters provide resources such as food and access to additional programs for evacuees. FEMA is able to assist registering survivors and assess their recovery needs, as well as determine eligibility for disaster assistance programs. The shelters are also providing specialized medical care for individuals recovering from cases of norovirus.

See also

• San Mateo Co Strikes Camp Fire, Uses New Cal Fire Structure List
• Rescuing Animals Job 1 For Silicon Valley Humane Society

--Image courtesy of Menlo Park Fire Protection District